Rotoprofessor

By Jimmy Hascup

Is Russell Branyan going to build on his excellent first-half?  How is Roy Halladay dealing with rumors of being traded?  Is that really Jimmy Rollins lighting up the box score?  Was Matt Latos’ first career big league start a success?  And could Brett Anderson nearly pitch a perfect game and not get the win?  Find out answers to these questions and more…

St. Louis 2, Arizona 1
•    It’s truly amazing what pitching coach Dave Duncan can do with middle of the road pitching talent.  Joel Pineiro is one of his prime examples.  After today’s 7 inning performance in which he gave up 3 ER, Pineiro’s ERA stands at 3.09.  He’s only 8-9 on the season but has only given up a total of 4 ER in his three July starts.
•    Stephen Drew has the ability to be in the top-tier of shortstops.  After last season’s very encouraging numbers, we all thought this would be the year the 26-year-old put it all together.  He’s hit better in June and July, .292 and .300, but he’s got just 6 HR and 30 RBI on the year.  Drew’s also batting .255.  Not really what the D-Backs were hoping for.

Seattle 5, Cleveland 3
•    After a rough start by Erik Bedard, in which he couldn’t get out of the 5th inning, the Seattle bullpen carried the load, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings.
•    Russel Branyan continued his breakout year (I called him a sleeper!), going 2-4 with his 23rd homerun.  He’s always had booming power, he’s just never been able to maintain the semblance of a batting average before.
•    Ichiro did just what he does best… hit.  The 3-4 mark on the day, with a steal, has his batting average at .363, which is the second best in the major leagues.
•    Ben Francisco had the big day for the Indians, going 2-4 with his 7th HR and 2 RBI.  He doesn’t really have any fantasy value, but after a decent year last season, he’s been a bit of a disappointment.

Toronto 3, Boston 1
•    Trade rumors?  What trade rumors?  I don’t think it will matter what team Roy Halladay plays for this season.  Halladay’s been phenomenal this year and after holding the Red Sox to 1 ER in a complete game, 7-strikeout performance, Halladay has an 11-3 record and a 2.73 ERA on the year.  GM, J.P. Ricciardi, better get a tremendous package back if he ever deals Doc.
•    Alex Rios went 2-3 with a run and his 15th steal.  He’s batting .264 on the year with 10 HR and 48 RBI and could be another trade candidate for the Blue Jays.  Rios is the type of player who’s always left me wanting more.  You look at 2007 and think he’s going to be a big-time OFer, but he’s never really put it together.
•    Jon Lester received the loss today, after throwing 7 innings and giving up 3 ER.  He’s seen his ERA drop from the high-5s in May, to 3.86 now.  He also has 131 strikeouts in 114 innings this year.  We all knew he was bound to bounceback after that horrendous start to the season.

Cincinnati 5, Milwaukee 3
•    Jonny Gomes, who has no fantasy value, went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI.  After three solid years with Tampa Bay in 2005-2007, Gomes has never shown the consistency to be a real starter in the big leagues.
•    Willy Tavares is the type of player who could carry a team in steals, if he ever got on base.  Going 2-4 with his 18th steal, Tavares has been more hype than anything else this season.  He’s been a dreadful leadoff man, with a  .292 OBP and .250 BA.  He can rack up the steals in bunches, though, but I’d let someone else deal with the rest of his deficiencies.
•    It was just another day at the ballpark for Prince Fielder, who mashed his 24th HR, with 2 RBI, while going 3-4 at the plate.  He accounted for pretty much all Milwaukee’s offense today. If it wasn’t for Albert Pujols this guy would be the best 1B in the NL.  He’s batting .313 with 84 RBI.

Philadelphia 5, Florida 0
•    Jimmy Rollins lead the Phillies’ charge to victory today, going 3-5 and falling just a homerun shy of the cycle.  He has only 7 HR and 35 RBI on the year, while batting just .236.  He has hit .357 in July, but the 30-year old could be the biggest bust of this year’s draft, with an average draft position of 11.7 in ESPN leagues.
•    J.A. Happ can’t be this good, but he keeps showing me otherwise.  Going 7 innings today, with 4 Ks and 0 ER, Happ has a 2.68 ERA on the year and is a perfect 7-0 on the season.  I’m not a believer, but I’m sure there are optimists out there.
•    Jorge Cantu went 2-3 on the day.  Batting .289 with 10 HR and 53 RBI on the year, Cantu is quietly putting up a very nice season.  He’s got provide protection behind Hanley Ramirez if the Marlins are going to make another playoff push this year.

Chicago (NL) 11, Washington 3
•    Jake Fox had the Cubs’ best day, launching a 3-run HR and going 3-5 at the plate.  The Cubs have to find a way to keep this guys bat in the lineup.  He has 5 HR in 86 AB and is hitting .326.  Hitting 17 HR in triple-A this season in 164 AB and 25 HR in 388 AB last season, show that Fox’s power is for real.
•    Starting just his second game of the year, Kevin Hart limited the lowly Nats to 2 ER in 5 IP.  He has a 2.30 ERA on the year, but 15 BB and just 5 Ks in 15 innings, show he’s not really much of an option at this point.
•    Adam Dunn went 2-4 on the day, smashing his 24th HR of the season.  You know what you’re going to get from Dunn: around 40 HR with decent RBI totals and a low average.

San Francisco 4, Pittsburgh 3
•    Matt Cain may be the second best pitcher on the Giants’ staff, but certainly not by much.  Cain improved to 11-2 on the year after throwing a 7 inning, 8-strikeout game today.  He’s got a superb 2.32 ERA and 1.23 WHIP on the year.  Cain’s going to top 200 IP for the third year in a row and is a definite top starter at this point.
•    Nate Schierholtz went 1-4 today with an RBI and is doing a fine job for the Giants when he’s in the lineup.  After batting .375 in June, Schierholtz has struggled a bit in July.  He’ll be given a chance to play as long as he hits, and could be a depth option in the OF if he gets hot.
•    The soft-tossing Zach Duke threw 7 innnings and allowed 4 ER.  He won’t strikeout a ton (just 70 in 133 IP), but he knows how to carve up hitters.  He’s got a 3.38 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP, but just because he plays for the Pirates doesn’t mean you have to steer clear of him.   When the matchup is right, I’d use him.

Baltimore 10, Chicago (AL) 2
•    The Orioles’ offense erupted today, with every starter getting a hit besides Nick Markakis.  Greg Zaun- and not Matt Wieters, had the big day at the plate, going 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBI.  Matt Wieters hasn’t shown a liking to big league pitching, but I’d expect him to get used to it pretty soon.
•    Luke Scott could be excellent trade bait for the Orioles, a team that could be looking to receive a few more young pieces.  He went 1-3 today with a double and an RBI.  He has 18 HR and 53 RBI on the season and has gone quite unnoticed for most of the year.
•    The expectations might have been a bit unrealistic for Alexei Ramirez this year.  Most thought he could be the next big thing at shortstop.  Even after going 0-4 today, he’s on pace to match last season’s totals and fill a nice line; 20/20 and 80 RBI is more than usable.

New York (AL) 2, Detroit 1
•    The Yankees needed a big start from Joba Chamberlain… and that’s just what they got.  Pitching 6.2 innings, giving up 1 ER, and fanning 8, Joba recorded just his 5th win of the year.  He has a 4.05 ERA and 1.52 WHIP on the year.  To me, he’s extremely overrated at this point in his career.  He hasn’t shown to be all that amazing as a starter, yet everyone (NY media) talks about him like he’s the next big thing.
•    Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira both launched HR, accounting for all the Yankees offense.  They also both went 2-4 on the day and could be in store for a huge second half.  Say what you want about A-Rod, the guy still is a feared hitter, especially playing in the bandbox of Yankee stadium.
•    The Edwin Jackson trade to Detroit has been the ultimate steal.  He lost today (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER), but big deal.  The dude’s got a 2.52 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP on the season.  Jackson’s turned himself into one of the most reliable starters this season.  With boatloads of talent and just 25-years-old, nobody expected him to be a pitcher with a career 5 ERA for long.  With Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, and Edwin Jackson forming the one through three punch in the rotation, Tigers fans are in for a quite a treat in the coming years.

Tampa Bay 4, Kansas City 3
•    Carl Crawford stole his league leading 46th base and went 2-5 today.  An outfielder hitting above .300, with 8 HR and 40 RBI, Crawford has done wonders for fantasy teams this year.  The speedster is also on pace for 81 steals!  At just 27, this may not even be the best he has to offer.
•    Matt Garza didn’t have his best control today and it showed.  Lasting just 5 innings he allowed 3 ER and walked 5.  With Delmon Young still trying to learn how to fulfill the stigma that goes along with first overall selection, this Garza deal has been a fleecing for the Rays.
•    Alberto Callapso, who is batting .299, went 3-5 with 2 RBI.  Sure he plays for the Royals, but it’s steady guys like these who could certainly be useful for owners in search of a short-term filler or backup MI.

Colorado 6, San Diego 1
•    Right on cue, after yesterday’s Around the Majors, Ian Stewart started at 3B today and went 2-4 with his 17th HR.  He’s batting .225 on the year, but I can’t help but wonder how much value he’d have if his batting average was higher.  17 HR in 250 AB is not too shabby at all.
•    Jason Marquis quieted some critics who questioned his validity of being in the All-Star game.  The hurler went 8 innings and allowed just 1 ER.  He’s 12-6 on the season and hasn’t seen an ERA of 3.49 since the 3.48 mark in 2001 with the Braves, when he started 16 games.
•    Exactly the reason why you have to be hesitant in starting rookie pitchers in their first games.  As Will, a reader, pointed out, it will take time for Matt Latos to settle in to the big leagues.  He could be good in time, but we can’t expect stardom already.  Latos threw 4 decent innings, allowing 2 ER, while striking out 4.  He threw 75 pitches, so it would have been nice to see him go out for the 5th inning, but the Padres are going to be ultra-cautious with the youngster.

Los Angeles (AL) 1, Oakland 0
•    In a game that lasted 12 innings, Bobby Abreu was pretty much the only hitter who showed up.  It was his homerun in the 12th that ended the game.  He’s put up solid numbers this year: .306 BA with 7 HR and 60 RBI to go along with 19 steals has him as a very respectable #2 OF option.
•    This is exactly how good John Lackey can be.  Even though it was against the light-hitting A’s, Lackey threw a complete game three-hitter and struckout 6.  It’s about time Lackey wakes up and stops having months with ERAs in the mid 4s.  If the Angels want to hold back the Rangers and Mariners, they need him.
•    Brett Anderson was the tough luck loser today.  Anderson had a perfect game in the 7th inning, when Abreu broke it up with a base hit.  Anderson is by far the most polished A’s rookie starter.  Bumps in the road are expected, but after today’s 8 inning-2-hit affair, in which he struckout 5, Anderson hasn’t given up a run in 21 innings.  The 21-year-old is a huge gamble in his start against the Yankees next Friday.

Los Angeles (NL) 4, Houston 3
•    Matt Kemp was perfect tonight, as he collected three hits in three at-bats.  He scored four runs and hit a homerun.  In case the rest of the numbers weren’t good enough, Kemp also had his 20th steal of the season.  The budding CFer is batting .321 with 12 HR, 53 RBI, and 20 steals.  At least he wasn’t batting in the 9th spot in the order.  The 7-hole is still not where he belongs, though.
•    Carlos Lee is on pace to have his worst season since 2002 when he played for the White Sox.  He went 1-2 with an RBI.  The hulking slugger is batting .308, but has seen his power numbers fall: he only has 13 HR and 50 RBI on the year.  For a guy who’s averaged over 30 HR and 100 RBI for the past three seasons, it’s been a bit of an unsatisfying year for Lee.

Atlanta 7, New York (NL) 1
•    Yunel Escobar’s 3-4 night with a HR and 4 RBI carried the Braves to an emphatic win against the Mets.  The time to get Escobar on your team is now, but it’s quickly passing.  The shortstop is leading the Braves with 52 RBI and is a top shortstop option in any league.
•    Javier Vazquez threw 7 innings of 1-run ball with 5 Ks tonight.  Did anybody know he had a 2.86 ERA?  Even though he’s only 7-7 on the year, the 32-year-old is putting up career numbers right now.  He has 141 strikeouts in 126 innings and has only given up 108 hits.
•    Jeff Francoeur hasn’t been a savior by any means for the Mets, but he’s hit in five of the six games since he was dealt by Atlanta.  He went 1-4 with his 5th RBI as a Met.   It’s getting harder and harder to pick out offensive players for the Mets.  They just don’t score any runs.

Texas 5, Minnesota 3
•    Thanks to an Elvis Andrus sac-fly in the 7th inning to tie the game at 3 apiece, the Rangers and Twins played another five innings of tied baseball until Ian Kinsler provided the heroics.
•    Facing Dustin Nippert in the bottom of the 12th, Kinsler blasted his 2nd HR of the game and his 22nd of the year.  The stud 2B had 3 RBI in the game, but has really gone cold lately in the batting average department.  After a .323 BA in May, Kinsler hasn’t had a batting average over .245 in the three months since.  He’s batting .251.  Of course, he does have 22 HR, 55 RBI, and 19 SB on the year so we are able to deal with the woeful average.
•    Nick Punto had the biggest night for the Twins, hitting his first HR to go along with two more hits on the night.  Some pitchers hit better than Punto, as he’s batting just .215 with 15 RBI on the year.  He has absolutely no fantasy value.
•    Francisco Liriano pitched 6 respectable innings, allowing 3 R (2 earned), while striking out 6.  I say respectable because it was against a very good Rangers lineup, in Arlington.  Liriano has a 5.33 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.  He hasn’t been the same pitcher since Tommy John surgery and that’s a shame because it looked like he was going to be a top-5 pitcher for years to come.

What does everyone think?  What were the stories that perked your interest?

To read the previous article, click here.

Picture courtesy of Icon Sports Media, Inc.